A. Today, I want to let you in on a secret, and I assure you what I am about to reveal is true.
1. This secret is not science fiction, although it may sound like something from The X-Files.
2. And even though this secret is not classified information and has been to available to the discerning for centuries, the great majority of people still are unaware of it.
B. Have I piqued your curiosity? Are you wondering what this secret might be?
1. Here is the secret: there is a race of aliens living on earth, in plain view.
2. There is a species of people called the pneumatikoi (new-mat-tee–koy).
3. This group of people do not actually belong to this world, and among themselves they refer to the people of this earth as the “worldlings.”
4. The pneumatikoi look just like other ordinary human beings in their physical appearance.
5. But in reality these aliens are tuned into the frequency of a powerful being from another dimension.
6. When these individuals desert the ranks of the “worldlings” and give their allegiance to this extra-terrestrial being, an invisible life-force from outside this universe is implanted in their heart.
C. Here’s an even more startling fact: the goal of these aliens is to multiply their number.
1. When one of the worldlings joins the pneumatikoi, he or she is infected with this same unseen life-force as well.
2. And when this life-force enters these new recruits, they begin to undergo a metamorphosis: this invisible internal force begins to slowly, but perceptibly, transform them into a new kind of creature.
3. Thanks to the power of this life-force they are no longer a worldling – instead, they are being transformed into the image of their leader, molded into the nature of his dimension, stamped with the mark of their new home.
D. By now I’m sure you have recognized the identity of these aliens that I am talking about.
1. I am talking about the children of God; I am talking about the followers of Jesus Christ.
2. When any man or woman becomes a Christian, they no longer belong to this world because they have been “born again (or anew) of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3,5,9).
3. Pneuma is the Greek word for “Spirit,” and pneumatikoi are the “Spirit people.”
4. They are those who Paul describes here in Romans and elsewhere as those who “live according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4).
5. Jesus himself said of his followers that “they are not of the world, even as I am not of it” (John 17:16).
6. And one of his closest friends and most important leaders described the followers of Christ as being “aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11).
7. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that sets us apart from the world and marks us as belonging to heaven.
E. I hope that all of us followers of Christ understand that we are no longer worldlings, rather, we are a new race of Spirit-people.
1. When we became Christians, we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and that Holy Spirit lives in us as we learned in our last sermon from Romans 8:9-10: You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
2. Many Christians struggle to experience transformation and growth as a Christian because they don’t realize that becoming a Christian brought about an initial real change in their identity that also needed to experience ongoing change under the power of the Holy Spirit.
3. Once we comprehend that God the Holy Spirit dwells in us to mark us as a citizen of another dimension, of a heavenly kingdom, then we will be better equipped to understand His work.
4. Many times the presence and purpose of the Holy Spirit is presented as though it were something mysterious and mystical, which causes some people to be confused and cautious about the Holy Spirit.
5. While I admit that there is much I do not understand about the Holy Spirit, I can tell you that what I do know is that the Spirit lives in us and is given to us to help us in a number of ways.
F. Before we look at our passage today from Romans, I want us first to spend a few minutes with a passage that Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus.
1. In Ephesians 1:13-14, Paul wrote: 13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.
2. There are two concepts those verses which describe the purpose of the Holy Spirit: first, He is a “seal.”
a. In the ancient world the owner announced his ownership by attaching his seal to his possessions.
b. In the old west, ranchers would put their brand on their cattle.
c. This is what God has done for us: when we became his children, he placed his Holy Spirit within us to mark us as his own.
3. The second concept is the “down payment.”
a. In the Greek and Roman world it was customary to make a deposit, an arrabon, on the purchase of a possession.
b. An arrabon was a down-payment, the first installment, a statement that “Here is part of what I’ll give you, to prove that the rest is on the way.”
c. The KJV calls the Holy Spirit an “EARNEST of our inheritance.”
d. We still use that term, as well: if you make an offer on the purchase of a house, you will be asked to provide some “earnest money.”
e. What is “earnest money”? It is a tangible statement that “Here is part of what I’ll give you, to prove that the rest is on the way.”
f. Why is the Holy Spirit a “deposit guranteeing our inheritance,” an “earnest” of eternity?
g. Because when God saved us He put his Holy Spirit in us to provide a little “taste of heaven” - a personal experience of eternity right now - to tide us over until we will finally reach our soul’s true home.
G. Let’s turn our attention now to Romans 8:14-17.
1. There is probably no more clear passage in the NT on our position in the family of God than this one.
2. The subject of the entire chapter of Romans 8 is triumphant Christian living.
3. We learned from the first 13 verses that victory is both desirable and possible because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.
4. In verses 14-17, we will learn that victory is desirable and possible because we have an honored position in the family of God.
H. The first thing we learn in this section is the confidence of our position in God’s family.
1. Romans 8:14 says: For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.
a. The word “for” ties what we are about to learn to what we just finished learning.
b. Romans 8:13 says, “because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
3. The reason we can live, truly live, is because we are led by the Spirit of God.
4. Being led by the Spirit in this context is not having His special guidance in making decisions.
a. We certainly have that as children of God, but that’s not what this is referring to.
5. Rather, being led by the Spirit here means being enabled by the controlling power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to put to death the destructive temptations of the flesh and to walk in obedience to the Lord.
6. And when we walk in step with the Spirit, led and empowered by Him, it gives us the confidence that we are truly the sons of God.
a. Walking in obedience doesn’t make us sons of God, but it confirms the fact that we are.
7. I’m sure that we are all aware that when Paul uses the words “sons of God,” he is not meaning just males in the family of God.
a. It’s a term that emphasizes a child who has come of age, a mature, adult child who enjoys all the rights and privileges of his position.
b. The reason the Bible uses “sons” is because in that culture it was only the males who enjoyed that honored position.
c. But in God’s family with regard to salvation, there is neither male nor female.
d. Galatians 3:26-28 says, “26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. 27 For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. 28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
8. We’ve all heard the question: “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
a. It’s a good question.
b. If the evidence isn’t there, than there may be reason to doubt that you are truly a child of God.
9. Is there evidence that all of us are God’s sons?
a. Do we love His Word?
b. Are we drawn to commune with Him in prayer?
c. Do we love His people and enjoy spending time with them?
d. Do we enjoy telling others about Him?
e. Do we like to talk about Him more than we like to talk about making money, buying things, taking trips, following sports, or anything else?
f. Is there a deep desire in our hearts to please Him?
g. We don’t try to do all those things just to prove that we’re sons of God.
h. We do them because the Spirit of God is in control of our lives and when we do them, it gives us confidence that we are the sons of God.
I. Then after talking about the confidence of our position, Paul turns next to the characteristics of our position in God’s family.
1. What are some of the characteristics of our new life in Christ as God’s children?
2. Paul mentions a few in verse 15: For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”
3. One of the characteristics of sonship is freedom.
a. “For we did not receive a spirit of slavery…”
b. The word spirit is rightly spelled with a small s because it doesn't refer to the Holy Spirit, but rather to an attitude or disposition.
c. When we became sons of God, we did not receive a slave’s frame of mind.
d. Remember what we learned back in chapter 6? God’s emancipation proclamation freed us from slavery to sin: “For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.” (Rom. 6:14)
e. We don’t need to live as slaves, struggling helplessly against a cruel and powerful master.
f. Rather, we are in God’s family and we have a position of privilege and honor, and have access to the family’s resources. That gives us freedom.
J. Another characteristic of sonship is fearlessness.
1. Notice again verse 15: For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.
a. Fear is what people had under the law.
b. Israel stood trembling before the mountain that quaked and burned, fearful lest God should break through and slay them.
c. They feared the law which included penalties of death.
d. They feared entering the Holy of Holies on pain of death.
e. They had a fearful awareness of God’s awesome holiness, their own sinfulness, and their separation from God.
2. Some people today live in that kind of fear.
a. They view God as an angry, selfish tyrant who is just looking for a good excuse to punish them.
b. But as true believers, sons of God, we need not live in that kind of fear.
c. When Paul wrote to Timothy he reminded him: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. (2 Tim. 1:7)
d. And knowing that we are God’s children who don’t need to fear, will make us want to please Him all the more.
K. Another characteristic of sonship is favor.
1. We have a favored position because we have been adopted into God’s family.
a. Verse 15 continues: Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”
2. In the time of Paul, the word adoption was used as we use it today: the granting of the full rights and privileges of sonship to one who did not belong to the family by nature.
a. In the Roman world, a man without a male heir might adopt an adult into his family. His new son would give up his old family name and all his old family associations for the purpose of perpetuating his new father’s name and inheriting his estate.
3. Likewise, we were not by nature the sons of God, but God adopted us into His family and that puts us in a position of great favor.
L. A final characteristic of sonship is familiarity.
1. Here’s another beautiful picture of what it means to be in the family of God.
2. Paul wrote: Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”
a. You know what Abba is, right? Abba is the Swedish rock group from the 1970s and 80s.
b. That is true, but the abba that Paul referenced here is an Aramiac word that is a term of endearment.
b. It is derived from some of the first sounds of an infant - abababa (like dadada).
c. It pictures the warmth and intimacy of a young child climbing up on his father’s lap, giving him a big hug, and saying, “I love you Daddy.”
d. I can remember intimate times like that when our daughters were little and they would snuggle up around me and I would read to them, or they would come to me when they were afraid and I would hold them.
3. Our heavenly Father invites us to enjoy that degree of intimacy with Him as His children.
M. After talking about the characteristics of our sonship, Paul addresses the confirmation of our position in God’s family.
1. Verse 16 says: The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children.
2. The Old Testament insisted that the truth had to be established in the presence of at least two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15), and that may be what Paul is thinking about here.
3. Our spirits sometimes fail us.
a. We feel discouraged and depressed.
b. Maybe we’ve fallen into sin, and that has us down.
c. Maybe we’re facing some ongoing trials.
d. Maybe there are questions we cannot find answers to, or problems we cannot solve, and they have us down.
4. But the Holy Spirit is always there, bearing witness deep in our souls, that regardless of the circumstances, we are the children of God.
a. He may do it through the Word.
b. He may do it when we are praying.
c. He may do it through the encouraging ministry of other believers.
d. But however He does it, He's always there, bearing witness that we are God’s children.
5. A Roman adoption ceremony had to be performed in the presence of seven witnesses.
a. In the event that when the adopting father should die, and the natural born children might try to cut the adopted son out of his inheritance, one or more of the seven original witnesses would step forward and swear that the adoption was genuine and true (Barclay, 111).
6. And if there’s any doubt about our position in the family of God, we’ve got a witness: the Holy Spirit of God.
a. He keeps on confirming it - if we have believed and obeyed the Gospel, then we are undeniably and unquestionably the genuine children of God.
N. The final thing we learn in this section is the consequences of our position in God’s family.
1. Paul mentions two consequences of our position as children of God.
2. The first consequence is the blessing of an inheritance.
a. Verse 17 says: “and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ…”
b. As children of God we have a marvelous inheritance.
1. Peter described it as “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4).
2. Our heavenly inheritance will include a glorious new body, a glorious new home, and a glorious new existence with God in heaven – it’s hard to imagine how wonderful our heavenly inheritance will be.
c. Notice also that we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
1. We all know what joint heirs are.
2. If you inherit your parents’ estate, you’re an heir.
3. If you have brothers and sisters who share in that estate with you, then you are joint heirs with them.
4. And we’re joint heirs with Christ.
5. All that belongs to Him by virtue of His eternal relationship with the Father, He will share with us.
6. All the glory that He has enjoyed in the Father’s presence from eternity past, we will participate in.
d. The thought of being joint heirs with Christ of a heavenly inheritance ought to thrill us, inspire us, and compel us to faithfully walk in the Spirit.
O. But there’s one more consequence of our position that Paul wants to mention - suffering.
1. This one isn’t quite so exciting at first sight, but it will turn out to be in the end.
a. Paul wrote: 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
2. It helps me to know that I’m in the family of God if I am willing to suffer for the sake of Christ when the occasion requires it.
a. Paul will be talking about suffering in some detail in the verses that follow, which we’ll cover in the next sermon, and so Paul mentions it here as the transition into that subject.
b. But suffice it to say: there are times when our faithfulness to Christ will demand suffering.
3. We may not have to suffer like some Christians have in biblical times or in other countries in our time, and yet we may suffer in other ways because of our relationship to Christ.
a. Some Christians in the business world know what it means to lose a job, or to be passed over for a promotion, because they wouldn’t do something unethical, immoral, or harmful to others.
b. Some Christians in school know what it means to be ridiculed for speaking out in defense of Biblical truth, or to be put at a disadvantage because others are cheating.
c. Some Christians know what it is like to be shunned or ridiculed for standing up for what is right or standing against what is wrong.
4. But the good news is that suffering with Christ and for Him does not cast doubt on our heirship, on the contrary, it is further assurance of our future glory.
a. If, indeed, we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified together with Him.
5. There’s an old hymn that says: “Heaven will surely be worth it all.”
a. Once we set foot inside the pearly gates, all of the hardships and sacrifices and voluntary deprivations of faith here on earth will make sense, right?
6. But what about right now? What sustains our soul when times get tough here on earth?
a. God has already put heaven in our hearts by the power of His Holy Spirit!
b. Those who have faced persecution, who have been tortured and imprisoned for following Jesus, often report that the presence of God is never more real or more precious to them than when they are suffering for the sake of their Lord.
c. That is the mark of a “Spirit person,” a child of God, and that kind of perseverance can only come from the indwelling Holy Spirit.
P. I hope that all of us who are children of God are truly grasping what we have in Christ, and how different we are because we have the Holy Spirit and are co-heirs with Christ.
1. This world is truly not our home.
2. While our feet are on the ground and we have a mission here on earth, our minds and hearts are in heaven and are on the things of heaven.
3. And that truly makes us strangers and aliens on earth.
4. What an amazing thing it is that we are children of God who are empowered, comforted, and confirmed by the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
5. That same Spirit gives us the ability to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.
6. And as children of God, we have a favored position and an intimate relationship with God that includes an unbelievable inheritance.
7. All this should cause us to want to be more like our heavenly Father and our spiritual brother, Jesus.
8. Let’s sing the old hymn, “O to Be Like Thee!”
Resources:
Romans, The NIV Application Commentary, by Douglas Moo
Heaven Is In My Heart, Sermon by Dan Williams
The Family of God, Sermon by Richard Strauss
